The Halloween stores are popping up around the metro, so I guess that means it’s officially fall.
Rob & I stopped by one today that set up shop in the still-warm corpse of a Toys “R” Us store in Norman. Have you noticed all of those Halloween stores are the same? The store we stopped inside wasn’t a Spirit, but it had all the same stuff as a Spirit store. And wow…costumes just keep getting cheaper and cheaper. Everything is bagged and made out of plastic. Yuck.
I love Halloween but don’t always celebrate it. I’ll binge watch a handful of scary movies and then be on my way to decorating for Christmas. And yes, my Christmas stuff comes out right at 12:01 on November 1st!
Another sign Halloween is almost here: Squash September is coming to an end. I guess we still have a whole ‘nother half of the month to go, but before you know it October will be here. I’m still rolling with the squash recipes and have shockingly not gotten burnt out on zucchini yet. Being on this keto diet, zucchini and spaghetti are the two squash I can really chow down on without having to measure it out so much. So, sorry guys! Hope you like zucchini and spaghetti squash!
The greatest $15 I ever spent on Amazon was my spiralizer. I make zucchini noodles on the reg and that contraption comes in handy. I don’t even know how you could make zucchini noodles without one…it would be very difficult, I’m sure.
The real star of the show in this dish is the spinach and feta meatballs, but you can’t count those zucchini noodles out. They’re just quickly sauted with oil, garlic, lemon juice and a quick sprinkle of some crushed red pepper—but they pack a punch when it comes to the flavor department. Wow. I could’ve just eaten them by themself!
These mini meatballs are tasty little morself from the Gods. Feta is a great cheese to stuff inside of a meatball because it won’t melt out—it’s a pretty hard cheese. It went really well with everything else inside the meatball, too!
Enjoy!
Spinach and Feta Mini Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles
Cheesy mini meatballs with lemon-garlic zucchini noodles.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 2 cups spinach, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TBS. olive oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- salt & pepper
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 zucchini, spiralized
- 2 TBS. olive oil
- 1 TBS. butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine turkey, spinach, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablepoon oil, egg, feta, almond flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Mix together well with your hands.
- Roll meat mixture into 1/2″ balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, heat remaining oil & butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add red pepper flakes, lemon juice, zucchini, salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Serve meatballs with zucchini noodles and extra feta if desired.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine turkey, spinach, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablepoon oil, egg, feta, almond flour, salt, pepper and oregano.
Mix together well with your hands.
Roll meat mixture into 1/2″ balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat remaining oil & butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add red pepper flakes, lemon juice, zucchini, salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring constantly, until crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Serve meatballs with zucchini noodles and extra feta if desired.
leencuisine.com 